A number of the people injured in the bus crash near Eilat on Tuesday that claimed the lives of at least 24 Russian tour guides spoke of the moments of horror they experienced during and after the accident.

"I woke up on the ground and I saw all of the people around me lying down. There was absolute silence," Luba Srebrodolskaya told Haaretz.

The tour guide said the trip was her third visit to Israel, adding that she loved the country even though she is not Jewish.

"I only want to get home and then visit Israel again," she said.

The group had come to Israel in order to familiarize themselves with Eilat, ahead of marketing the southern resort city to prospective tourists.

Yelena Patiyumkina, 56, was moderately injured in the incident. She said that, "This was our first hour in Israel... We started to overtake the second bus and then fell to the left side. From then on I don't remember anything."

Patiyumkina stated that the bus driver should have his passengers to wear seat belts.

One official who arrived at the scene of the crash described it as looking "like a massive terror attack," with bodies scattered across the dry river bed.

A spokesman for rescue services told Army Radio spoke of the carnage he and his personnel witnessed at the site, saying "we were exposed to one of the worst accidents in recent years."

Another rescue worker said that reaching the injured was nearly impossible, considering the dangerous slopes they had to descend.

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